LIVE MARKETS-Europe before the bell: taking stock
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EUROPE BEFORE THE BELL: TAKING STOCK
European equity futures are a little weaker on Thursday, with risk appetite still shaky as the conflict in the Middle East continues into a sixth day.
The war has widened sharply, with a U.S. submarine sinking anIranian warshipoff Sri Lanka on Wednesday, and NATO air defences destroying an Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Turkey.
Euro STOXX 50 futures STXEc1 are down about 0.6%. The index rose 1.7% yesterday but is still down 4.4% this week.
Futures on the DAX FDXc1 and CAC FCEc1 are down about 0.4% each on Thursday, while FTSE futures FFIc1 are inching higher by 0.1%.
Equity markets recovered some lost ground in Asia, with South Korea's Kospi .KS11 notching a near 10% gain, its sharpest daily rise since October 2008 after its biggest daily drop a day earlier.
Investors are keeping a close watch on energy prices. Brent and U.S. crude futures LCOc1, CLc1 are rising another 3% or so on Thursday, while benchmark European nat gas TRNLTTFMc1 is up 10%.
(Samuel Indyk)
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